The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. . . announced a voluntary recall of . . . Ceramic piggy and lion banks. Hazard: The yellow surface paint on the banks contains excessive levels of lead which is prohibited under federal law. Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada . . . announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Name of Product: Youth and Adult Brine VIP Lacrosse Gloves, Units: About 7,000 in the United States and 30 in Canada. Hazard: Screen printing ink used on the silver triad logo on the back of the glove contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard. Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Government agencies must take action to justify their existence. Agency action usually means loss of freedom and financial harm to the public. One of the most worthless government agencies is the Consumer Product Safety Commission that now sticks its ugly head in all facets of American life. It’s latest target – roller shades used on windows. Regardless of the fact that there is no evidence that any person, child or adult, has ever been harmed by the roller shades, the CPSC recalled 1.3 million shades. Unelected bureaucrats are ruling our lives.

Earth to the CPSC – it is not possible to eliminate every possible threat to children. Here’s the latest CPSC joketragedyoutrage recall:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Name of Product: Roman and Roller shades. Units: About 1.3 million (1,160,000 Roman shades and 115,000 roller shades).

Hazard:

Roman Shades: Strangulations can occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the shade or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck.

Roller Shades: Strangulation can occur if the shade’s continuous loop cord is not attached to the wall with the tension device provided and a child’s neck becomes entangled in the free-standing loop.

Incidents/Injuries:

Roller Shades: CPSC and Smith+Noble have received a report of a 5-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington who became entangled in an unsecured continuous loop bead cord on a roller shade in May 2009. No medical treatment was required.

“Then there’s the Little Tykes workbench. Last year the CPSC recalled that product’s toy nails after an 11-month-old boy almost choked on one. Those nails are made out of plastic. They’re 3 1/4 inches high and 1 1/4 inches wide. They’ve been sold with the workbench since 1994. And the boy who almost choked is fine. So we’re talking about a product that has been on the market for 15 years and sold 1,600,000 units. It is popular, safe and time-tested. To me that’s an exemplary toy. To the CPSC it is a killer on the loose.”

From the your tax dollars at work department. No. We did not make up the warning from the Consumer Products Safety Commission that appears under the headline in bold below. After reading it, I can’t wait for possible future announcements from the CPSC that may warn parents about the dangers of children:

Opening windows in your home to enjoy the warmer temperatures may seem harmless, but windows have proven to be sources of injury and death for young children. In recent weeks, several children have fallen from windows and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data indicates that on average, about eight deaths occur yearly to children five years or younger while an estimated 3,300 children five and younger are treated each year in U.S. hospital emergency departments. Hospitalization was required for about 34 percent of these children after falling from a window.

These deaths and injuries frequently occur when kids push themselves against window screens or climb onto furniture located next to an open window.

“The deaths and life-altering injuries we have seen here at CPSC are heart-breaking and in many cases preventable,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “We want parents and caregivers to think safety before opening the windows where young children are present.”

“Window falls increase dramatically during the spring and summer months but they can be prevented,” said Chrissy Cianflone, Director of Programs for Safe Kids USA. “It takes active supervision on the part of the parent or caregiver, and a device called a window guard. Screens are meant to keep bugs out, not kids in. Window guards are easy to install and have a release mechanism in the event of an emergency.”

“The window fall season is upon us. The harmless act of opening a window to enjoy the beautiful weather can lead to tragedy unless parents and caregivers of young children exercise proper safety precautions,” said Mindy A. Bockstein, Chairperson and Executive Director of the New York State Consumer Protection Board. “Let’s not be lulled into a false sense of security by window screens but properly install window guards and follow other safety measures.”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of a children’s tiarat. Consumers should stop using it immediately. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Hazard: The tiara contains high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, aka the Toy Police, in cooperation with the Target, announced a voluntary recall of Boys’ and girls’ belts because the belt buckles contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard. Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

USA Today: “Nearly two years after the [Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act] was enacted, Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are still struggling to reduce its burden on small businesses while eliminating the risk of lead and phthalates in children’s products. . . . A coalition of small businesses and manufacturers, the Alliance for Children’s Product Safety, has been aggressively fighting the law, saying it is threatening the livelihoods of mom and pop shops like Hertzler’s and costing larger manufacturers billions in lost sales and compliance.”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a stupid voluntary recall of a basketball-shaped chair and ottoman sets due to violation of the ridiculous federal lead paint standard. The product is called the All-Star Basketball Chair and Ottoman Set. Hazard: Surface paints on the lettering on both sides of the basketball chair could contain excessive levels of lead which is a violation of the federal lead paint standard. Incidents / Injuries: None reported.